If you have a tree near your window in the country, or even in the city, there's a good chance you don't need an alarm clock to get you out of bed. A flock of cockys is will be quite happy to make sure you don't sleep in.

The cocky - more correctly the sulphur crested cockatoo - is a large, white parrot native to Australia, New Guinea and Indonesia. An attractive birds with vibrant, showy crests, they are often kept as pets and have been known to live 80 years and more in captivity. The are gregarious, raucous, and often quite destructive. They gather in large flocks which attack cereal and fruit crops, and even soft building timbers. Nevertheless, they are appealing birds, full of character. Just hope they don't come screeching outside your window at dawn.

Tech TalkI love my 50-200mm lens. Shapp and quick to focus, it's fast enough to cope reasonably well with a 1.4x teleconverter attached. A great combination.

Olympus E-5, Zuiko Digital 50-200mm f2.8-3.5, with and without the EC14 1.4x teleconverter